Gifts of Love Large and Small - Chapter 10
"No!"
"S'mine!"
Kate winces, stepping into the loft and closing the door behind her. This doesn't sound good.
"Daddy! Jake and Reece are fighting!"
No, this is not good at all. While it's nice that her sons seem to have found their words, the fact that they're screaming them at one another doesn't bode well for what kind of situation she's walking into this evening.
Despite the plan for the entire family to drive back from her father's cabin together, she'd had to leave hours before everyone else to get to the precinct and put out the fires that had cropped up in her absence. After taking the majority of two days off without notice, she'd had little to no choice but to get there as soon as possible, and unfortunately that meant leaving before dawn.
She'd talked to Rick a couple of times throughout the day, made sure they'd gotten home okay, and he'd never mentioned it being like this.
"Um hey?" she calls, hoping maybe an interruption will distract them from their disagreement, whatever it's about. "Guys, I'm home!"
"Weece, I sai' no!"
The shriek that follows makes her eyes widen and she darts deeper into the house. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on in here?"
Her sons look up, their faces scrunched and red with their upset. They scramble to their feet, running straight to her.
"Mama!"
Two little faces press against her knees, clutching at her slacks.
"Oh my goodness," Kate murmurs, leaning over to brush their hair back. "What is all this drama for?"
They stumble through an explanation she doesn't quite understand, and she takes a moment to look around the living room for a clue about what's gotten them so riled up and at odds. There are toys everywhere – as per usual – but she notices the additional Star Wars toys and stuffed dinosaurs and sharks wearing shiny Christmas bows.
"They're fighting, Mommy," Lily says running back in. "I tolded Daddy."
"I can see they're fighting, honey," she says, scratching the boys' backs lightly. "What are they fighting about, though?"
"Toys," Lily sighs, pushing her hair off her face. "They want da same one."
"I see," she says, looking around again in an attempt to identify the offending toy. "Which one?"
Her daughter points – ahh, the new Millennium Falcon. At least she thinks it's new, she doesn't remember seeing it lately, anyway. The sharks and dinos are new, that much she knows.
"Boys, you need to share the toys. Why don't you take turns with the Millennium Falcon instead of fighting over it?"
"No! S'mine!" Jake insists, his head snapping up. His nose scrunches with determination.
"Reece did take it from him, Mommy," Lily reports, holding out the stuffed shark to Reece instead.
Reece bats it away, burying his face in Kate's leg. "No!" he cries, muffled by her pants.
"Now that's not nice," Kate murmurs, squeezing his neck. "Lily's trying to help you, Reece. She doesn't want you to be sad and she doesn't want your brother to be sad either. If you don't want to play with that, say no thank you."
He grunts, saying nothing.
Kate rolls her eyes before turning back to her daughter. "Thank you for trying, Little Flower. Where is Daddy? I heard you calling him."
"In the potty."
"Ah," she says. That explains why her husband hasn't come running. "That's a nice shark and dinosaur. Did you guys get them today?"
Lily nods. "At a gas station. Gwampa buyed 'em! And I got a unicorn!"
"Grandpa did, huh."
Lil grins, nodding. "Wanna see mine? Her name's Sparkle."
"Sparkle. That's beautiful, and I'd love to see her, but can you show me in a couple of minutes? I think it might be time to get your crazy brothers down for a nap. Did you guys sleep in the car on the way home?"
Her daughter shrugs. "A little, I fink. My brudders didn't, though. I think they singed Christmas songs and watched Paw Patrol the whole way."
Well, it's no wonder Castle's hiding in the bathroom. She would be, too, if she'd been serenaded with carols the Reece and Jake way for an entire drive. In small doses, it's cute, but for hours on end, the novelty tends to wear off. Even for her husband, who has the patience of a saint with their kids most days.
She nods, offering Lily a grateful smile. "Oh wow, well I think I know why PB and J are a little grumpy, don't you?
"Uh huh."
"No nap!" Jake shouts, earning an agreement from Reece.
Ah, yes, the staple of brotherly love: going from being at each other's throats to finding solidarity in refusing a nap.
"Uh huh." She kneels, pressing kisses to their cheeks and slipping her arms around her sons, doing her best to draw them closer. "Well, I missed you guys today. Do you think you can sit with me for a little bit and tell me about your day? I hear we're going to meet up with Grandpa and Gram and Alexis later and look at some Christmas lights, is that right?"
The boys grunt, pushing away.
Kate wows quietly, watching them stomp to the toys again. Reece goes to pick up the Star Wars figure once again, staring at Jake the entire time.
"NO!"
"Ohhkay, let's just pick up the Millennium Falcon and let it fly into a hangar on the rebel base and get some repairs done." She swoops in, snatching it up and holding it over her head.
"Mama, no! S'mine!" Jake jumps over and over, reaching for the toy. "Mine, mine, s'mine!"
Stepping into the office, she comes face to face with her husband, who looks mildly baffled at the cacophony he's walking into. She thrusts the toy toward his chest, not stopping to see if Jake or Reece are following or if they're just standing there and shrieking instead.
"Hide this," she says under her breath, brushing his mouth with hers in greeting. "Now."
"I-okay."
He's gone before she has the chance to explain, leaving her to turn and face her red-cheeked sons again. Lily looks on, her mouth half-open, but wisely, the girl doesn't comment on the drama.
"Hey, hey," Kate murmurs, kneeling once again. "We're not going to get upset. You guys know if we fight over a toy, the toy goes and takes a break," she reminds them, tapping Reece's chin and then Jake's. "And once we're calm and we can play together again, the toy will come back."
They sniff, tossing their heads back and wailing even louder.
"Boys," she tries again, a little firmer this time. Her head is already starting to throb. "Take a deep breath. Come sit on your pillows. Everything will be fine."
They fling themselves onto the pillows, which is at least an improvement over them flinging the pillows at her, burying their faces in the fabric.
"You guys are tired," she murmurs, waiting until they've stopped rolling to hold out her hands and rub circles on their backs. Thankfully, they don't buck away. "It'll be okay. It'll all be okay."
Lily settles on her knees beside Reece, brushing her hand over his back too. "S'okay, Peanut Butter."
Kate smiles, checking her sons' faces; they're out. Eyes closed, mouths open against the tan corduroy, passed out asleep. "You're a sweet sister, Lily. You know that."
Lily nods, looking between her brothers. Kate watches her brow furrow a little and tilts her head.
"What's wrong?"
"Santa's still coming, right? Even if they were being bad?"
She reaches over, tucking Lily's hair behind her ear. "They're still little, honey. They're still learning what's bad and what isn't, and they're very tired right now, so it's even harder for them to know what the right thing to do is. Santa's not going to fault them for that, any more than he would fault you for not making the best choices when you're a little too tired."
Lily exhales. "Phew. I was so worried."
She drops a kiss on Lily's nose. "Don't be worried, Santa's still on his way. And what do you say you relax a little bit before we get changed for dinner and the lights, too?"
Her daughter looks like she's poised to protest, but she rethinks that almost as soon as the urge arises. Instead, Lily slides onto her own lounging pillow and exhales.
"I'll turn down the lights and put on some nice music, too. How's that?"
Lily nods, reaching under the coffee table and brandishing her stuffed Christmas animal – this must be Sparkle. "S'good, Mommy."
"Good, okay. Close your eyes and rest, Little Flower," she says, stroking her fingers through Lily's hair and down the girl's back.
Lily does as she suggests, sinking into sleep almost instantly. Still, Kate waits a few minutes before she eases up and off the floor, ignoring the way her knees pop and her hip protests.
Castle's waiting for her in their bedroom when she pads through, holding out an arm to draw her into a loose embrace.
"Well, that was a nice homecoming, I'm sure."
She snorts. "Could've been better, could've been worse; they could've gotten so upset they puked."
He winces. "Oh, true. Yeah, let's not have that happen tonight."
She huffs in half-laughter, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to his neck. "Yes, let's. Good news is they're sleeping now – they really didn't nap on the drive?"
He shakes his head. "Awake the whole way. And you can tell."
"Oh yeah you can. Lily looked like she might break down, too, if she was pushed too hard."
He nods. "She didn't sleep much – the boys made a racket and woke her up."
"Poor baby."
Rick hums. "Me or our daughter?"
"Both," she assures, slipping her fingers under his collar. "And I'd be happy to rub your back until you fall asleep, too, if you wanted to take a nap with me while they're asleep…"
She barely finishes talking before he tugs her back toward their bed.
A nap, it is.
It's a minor miracle, but the boys wake up sunny and sweet as ever, even though they nap far later than she intends for them to. It means it'll be difficult to get them to sleep later, but given that it's Christmas Eve, she has no doubt she and Rick are in for a fight anyway.
At least they're not being hellions right now, and that's what she's concerned about now.
Even Lily's bright-eyed and back to her usual cheery self.
Kate's not surprised that the quiet time had refreshed everyone. The time she'd spent sleeping (and not sleeping) with Castle had certainly given her a better outlook on the day, as well.
"Okay," Rick starts as they wrestle and coax the kids into their coats, gloves, and hats, "remember the plan for tonight?"
The boys nod. "Ya!" They bounce, practically wiggling out of their coats.
Kate holds Reece steady while Rick hastily tosses the boy's boots on his feet. A kiss on her son's head later, and she releases him into the wild to reach for Jake and do the same. "We're going to meet Gram and Grandpa downstairs and go have some dinner with them and Alexis, then we're all going to look at lights."
They nod again.
It's not the usual homecooked meal, but they'd decided to compromise and move that to tomorrow, just to give all of them the opportunity to take a breath tonight. Given how little help she would've been, Kate's glad they did; tomorrow she'll be able to be there for everything.
Lily brings her boots over, giggling out a request for the same help as her brothers had gotten. She doesn't need it, but they're all too happy to do it, just the same.
"And when we get home, what's going to happen?" she asks, fixing their knit caps on their heads.
"Pwesents!" the boys cheer. "Pwesents fo' Chwismas!"
"One present," she murmurs. "And then we'll put our PJs on, read our story, and go to bed so Santa can come. No tears."
That gets enthusiastic nods (though she doubts their ability to follow through with the promise, they'll jump over that hurdle later) from all three kids.
"Okay," she agrees, pressing kisses to their noses. "Let's go."
Martha and her father are waiting in the lobby when they spill out of the elevator. Her father smiles, accepting the hugs and kisses from the kids before releasing them to Martha's joyous embrace as well.
"Oh, my darlings, it's so good to see you," she croons. "I've missed you so much."
Beckett smiles, waiting until the boys have released their grandmother (though Lily holds on a little longer) to slip her own arms around Martha.
"It's good to see you, Martha. How are you?"
Although they've talked in recent days, it's been at least a week since they've had the chance to get together for any real amount of time. Kate finds herself sinking deeper into her mother-in-law's arms, breathing in her familiar perfume.
"You know me, kiddo," Martha says, palming her cheek. "Moving as fast as I can for as long as I can."
She nods. "It's nonstop here, as always."
Martha smiles, fussing with the edges of Kate's cap before dropping her hands and hugging Lily once again. "Well, tonight is a night for all of us to slow down and enjoy one another."
"It is," Kate agrees, looking back to her husband, knowing he wants the chance to greet his mother, even if he won't admit it.
Sure enough, Rick swoops in, making sure his hug is as boisterous as the kiss he smacks on Martha's cheek. She sees the way their arms tighten around one another, though, the care in their eyes, and takes Lily's hand to draw her away and give them a moment.
They break away just a minute later, and Kate takes the arm her husband offers to her.
"Shall we?" he asks, watching their kids grab onto Martha and Jim and start tugging them outside.
She slips her arm through his, pressing her smile to his cheek. "Let's go, Castle."
Together, they slip outside, following their parents and their children down the sidewalk and into the winter wonderland of Christmas Eve Night.
As always, you all have my gratitude. For your kind words, your excitement, and all the love you show me throughout the year. I hope you have a peaceful, safe, and merry day, whether it's for Christmas or simply because it's Friday and the weekend has made it to us once again.
Be well, everyone! See you next story. Thank you all.